


Silk Stained Red

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Not really there but pining might be hinted at??, Reader is a Silky, Slight relationship, fanfic of a fanfic, general!grillby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:37:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6612655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Silky given responsibility of safeguarding the king and queen of all monsters has taken up correspondence with a monster general known as 'Hellfire' when the blood she's spilt becomes too much for her to handle.</p><p>After all, it's comforting to find someone who's as affected by war as you are, no?</p><p>//EDIT: As of May 2016, this fic is on hiatus! I may come back to it, I may not. But thank you so much for the love this fic got in the little that I have currently written of it! Cheers!                                                                                                                                --Silver</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bloodstains are Hard to Clean

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A House or a Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5743447) by [cicir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cicir/pseuds/cicir). 



> My brain's being a bit all over the place and gave me a huge idea for a lil fan-made expansion on the relationship between 'Garrison' and 'Hellfire' during the war. and maybe even later on
> 
> Though keep in mind that absolutely NONE of this is in the storyline unless the original author would like it to be!!  
> It's more backstory for my own insert for the original fic, but regardless,  
> Enjoy~ <3

 

> _"Hellfire,"_

 

Your letter began, but you abruptly stopped and frowned. Just what could you write to this General about? This correspondence wasn't for simple small talk! It was for talking about war! Battle plans! Or at least, topics that pertained to such.

And yet... you so badly wanted to write something like "How are you doing today, sir? Aside from the war and all..." or "How was your life before? Did you have a nice family?" Just a little something to make him seem more real, instead of just a red wooden piece on the chess-like war board. Asgore _had_ said that this monster was not as grounded as you thought, so maybe he would appreciate a little distraction from the bloodshed at hand.

 

 

> _"How are you faring aside from all these battles? I know I myself am--"_

 

You paused again, how _**were**_ you? You were barely talking to your Tie, _to Gosren_ , out of pure guilt, and you were sure you looked as horrid as you felt. You went to writing once more, shooing your thoughts away.

 

 

> _"Worse than usual. ~~I was told that--~~ "_
> 
> _"I thought that, maybe, we could both use a bit of a distraction from the blood on our hands?_
> 
>  
> 
> _\--Garrison"_

You decided that was good enough, and went inside to tell whomever would deal with it that the letter could be sent on it's way

 

* * *

 

 

 

The fire monster was surprised to say the least when a letter arrived from the Base of Operations. He had only received written instructions for tactics, well, guidelines rather. He did things mostly his own way, he never really planned to be a general.

Though, when he opened the letter, he was surprised to not see the bold letters of Asgore's writing, but gently flowing cursive that could, dare he say it, be considered even more beautiful than the queen's penmanship. Upon reading the small note, wide white orbs narrowed gently and a jagged white line that could be considered a smile crept across the generals fiery face. He immediately set to writing a response.

 

 

> **"Garrison,**
> 
> **I, too, am barely managing. Thank you for asking.**
> 
> **I am also appreciative of an offer for conversation, if I may add. It has been a long time since I've talked about much more than battles.**
> 
> **What would you like to discuss?**
> 
>  
> 
> **\--Hellfire"**

 

* * *

 

 

 _"You were doing this for Gosren, all for her."_ You told yourself as you had to murder untrained teen after untrained teen.

 _"For Gosren. She must be kept safe."_ You repeated as you stood over mutilated corpses of dozens of varying soldiers. All ages.

 

 _"For... Gosren..."_ You faltered as you killed many, many more. Their free flowing blood staining your dress and their screams, oh my stars, you could swear they left cracks in your soul as if it were made of glass. Though it was always the same. You managed to steel your nerves for long enough to kill them.

 

Whether it be decapitation,

 

> _"Heads don't roll as far as I'd've thought.." You mused._

Disembowelment,

 

> _"Hum.. So that's what human organs look like? Odd. I don't know what I was expecting, but I suppose it wasn't these!" You giggled, bloodlust of the moment getting the better of you._

Or one of the many other ways you'd come to know. And hate.

 

"_______!!" A familiar voice pulled you out of your stupor, and you looked up to the softly smiling face of Gosren, her hand outstretched and holding a wax sealed paper. "This came for ya today!" Her eyes lidded and she smirked, "Ya didn't tell me y' were romancin' one of the army's most revered generals~"

"G-G-Gosren!! It's nothing like that!" You sputtered, the turtle monster laughing in her usual boisterous way as you lit up bright red.

"Heh heh! I'm just foolin' with ya _______. I know you'd at least gush to me first~" She gave another hearty laugh before handing you the letter and walking away.

 

You grumbled, albeit with a smile on your face, as you carefully removed the seal. Even as you tried to keep your distance, Gosren always knew how to lift your mood. You loved her.

Your eyes scanned the letter, and you let out a small breath of relief. He was okay with small talk, that was great. But then, what would you talk about? You settled on listing off a few topics you thought the monster might be interested in, telling him that you didn't really know what to talk about, so you'd let him choose the topic.

 

* * *

 

This continued for, as you counted, maybe about half a year?

Or maybe it was only three months?

Being as old a Silky as you were, it was hard to tell time in short measurements like that. You found the general quite a lovely conversation partner. As composed as he seemed, if you mentioned just the right topic it almost seemed like he had forgotten his rank and just how many people looked to him for orders, talking of his home life, and of running a bar with such glee, that it made you very happy that you could be such an outlet for the monster.

Though he insisted you still call him 'Hellfire' for the sake of seeming at least somewhat professional, you had told him that you'd rather be called ______. As it was your name, and 'Garrison' was more of a role than a name to you. You were as content as you could be with this routine. Write a letter to Hellfire in the morning, go out of the house to see if any humans had been sent to challenge you, talk to Gosren if no one had came, and if you were lucky, receive a reply from the general by nightfall.

 

It's what kept you going.

 

>  
> 
> _"At this point... I may not know anything else as well.... I'm scared Hellfire.."_

 

It's what kept you fighting.

 

>  
> 
> **"Fear is understandable, _______. If you have someone close to you there, stay with them. It will help you stay sane."**

 

_Fighting for her._

 

 


	2. You Can't Darn Heartbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Silky loses herself in her work.
> 
> And gets hurt in turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEP!! so, so so... a warning here!! This chapter contains depictions of self harm at the very end! I'll mark it if you'd like to skip it!

Hellfire had not heard from the Silky in a few worrying weeks. He wondered what could be keeping her from responding, though he tried to push his worry down and focus on the war. He chalked it up as Operations simply being under more strain and she did not have much free time. With that set in the general's mind, he turned his thoughts to his troops current standings.

While those under his command had high morale, they were starting to lose battle after battle, and this was ground they simply couldn't afford to lose. He ran a hand through the flames atop his head as he let out a sigh, the fire protesting with a few pops and sparks of stress. He could barely maintain composure any longer, his daily conversation partner seemingly missing.

"General Hellfire, Sir!" A monster rushed into his lodging, brandishing a very small, very disconcertingly tattered piece of parchment, "A letter for you found near the Base of Operations!"

The fire monster whipped around, his heart soaring and flames lapping at the air with anticipation and more than just a little concern, "I'll take it, thank you. Return to your duties."

"Yessir!" and with that, the general was left alone once more.

He immediately noticed the poor condition the paper was in and quickly opened it. His heart quickly went from light as a feather, to heavy as a boulder in his gut. The letter before him was bloody, fingerprints and spatters littering the page. He also noticed a few damp spots; what he presumed to be tears. The once neat and beautiful writing of the Silky reduced to shaky scrawls that were barely legible even without the stains.

 

 

>  
> 
> _"H ell fir  e,_
> 
> _-e' s d   ea d. SHe's d ea d an-    -s all my fa ul   t_
> 
>  
> 
> _a   m    y f a    ult"_

 

If anyone had been around, they would have seen the general frown deeply at the small letter, and whisper words of comfort that he knew could never reach the poor Silky's ears.

* * *

 

You had long since cried yourself out of tears, your sorrow causing the house to creak and groan with as much agony as you felt.

Why had you been so stupid?

You should have known the human would go for her!

That's why he brought his Silky!

And yet, as you'd berated yourself for a million and one times before, you internally scolded yourself that you let your pride and anger get the best of you. Looking down numbly at the dust in your lap and on the surrounding floor. A testament to your ignorance, to your poor control of self.

A testament to your failure.

 

_Time passed._

 

Her dust blew away with the wind. And you could swear that the wind was continuing your mourning, howling in anguish, even though you no longer could pull yourself to do such a thing.

 

_Seasons came and went._

 

Part of the human army came. Trying to offer you a new position? You wondered how much they really knew about Silkies, and if the expression on your face told them just why you couldn't leave. They threatened, and jeered, and even almost hit you.

You didn't bat an eye.

Yet you felt a twinge when you recognized the look in that man's eyes as he knelt before you.

 

Sorrow.

Much like your own.

Before he even told you, you knew he had lost someone very important to him.

He told you the story of his mother, how she snapped because of the war.

The unspoken, yet very real dangers of LV and EXP.

 

You cried louder than you had when Gosren first died the following night. The whole area around the house joining in with your wails of despair.

* * *

 

Getting yourself going again was quite a chore. But you managed. You knew Gosren wouldn't want you to remain idle, even when she was gone.

So you set to work cleaning the house. Dust and polish the tables and chairs, clean the windows, mend clothes that had holes in them, rinse silverware, and then once everything was taken care of, sit in the windowsill and watch the world go by. This routine continued until you'd swear you'd eventually polish the furniture down to sawdust. Clean sawdust, but sawdust nonetheless, and that was a pain to clean.

It was one day of continuous sewing that made you think of it.

_If you could mend clothes, why couldn't you mend your own heart in the same way?_

You'd never forget Gosren of course, but maybe you could lessen the pain enough to continue on like you knew she'd want you to.

 

~~~~~ Self Harm Warning ~~~~~

 

So you came to decide that a needle and thread could solve all your problems. You bared the pain and blood that came from sticking the needle through skin, and gritted your teeth as the thread rubbed against your flesh uncomfortably. _'This is how I'll manage!'_ You told yourself in hushed tones as you shoved the needle through your skin for another stitch, _'I'll be able to function again! It'll be like darning socks!'_

So you kept at it, sewing at the invisible gashes in your chest and looking at your handiwork in the mirror. The thread became frayed quickly, the stitches glued in place by scabs of varying shapes and sizes. It was hard to breathe, but you didn't care! These wounds meant nothing! No matter how much of your blood was smeared over your chest, if you could just stitch up your broken heart it would all be worth it!

You only stopped when the thread was a tight-knit patch right above where your heart would be, and there was so much blood caked on your chest you'd swear your skin was naturally red there.

It was only at that point that you realized you couldn't stitch up a broken heart. How dumb it was to think it possible in the first place! Of course you couldn't mend heartbreak with thread, it wasn't fabric! You tried to pluck the thread from it's lodging, only to knock a clot out of place and start bleeding all over again. The dribbles of blood ran down the front of your tattered dress, staining it even more than it had already been. Foolishly trying to pull the thread out again, with more force, put you in immense pain. You yelped and let go immediately, your chest burning from where you'd tried to pull out the string.

You decided it was best to leave it be for now.

You'd already caused yourself enough unneeded pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey!! thank you everybody for reading this so far!! it means so much to me!
> 
> a little announcement is, since i'm primarily an artist and not so much a writer, i'm very willing to draw up cover images or images to accompany your story if you'd like to find some!  
> i'll be making a post on my tumblr http://silverstarsy.tumblr.com/ shortly after i publish this chapter about terms for cover art, chapter art and such!
> 
> again, thank you all soooooo much for reading!!! <3


	4. //Small Break!!

Oof! I'm terribly sorry but I went to a con this past weekend and not only am I still recovering from that excitement,

but I came down with a nasty... uh... whatever it is. not quite sure haha..

Point is, this is probably gonna keep me from working on this for a lil while.

I _do_ have chapter 3 in the workings, but it's like... a super rough draft and I don't wanna risk it coming out like shiitake mushrooms if I can't focus on it right.

 

Thank you all so much for reading what I do have up though, and the kudos! It means so, so much to me. I promise I'll get the next chapter out when I can.

Until later! <3


End file.
